Pokémon: Ultimatum
by Mato Rin
Summary: Two stories, Premium and Ultimatum, dictate the adventures of two young children as they begin their Pokémon journeys, learning of the Pokémon Master who mysteriously disappeared seven years ago. Now, a choice for you: Will you follow Red, or Leaf?
1. Introduction!

POKÉMON: ULTIMATUM

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

The world of Pokémon – a spinning globe of wonderment, home to an infinite array of creatures too varied to fully comprehend. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, meticulously fashioned by the forces of nature in all its glory, as only nature can. And no matter what corner of the world you find yourself, rest assured, you'll find Pokémon there as well.

Soaring overhead, skimming the clouds… and riding the currents undersea. Sharing the mountains' majesty… and animating our many lush green forests. Happily making their home in fields of grass, while even our sprawling cities are teeming with them.

People and Pokémon find common ground, sharing the goal of victory in the Pokémon battle, vying to become friends, comrades, and Pokémon masters!

Which brings us to a young, brand new trainer who is about to dedicate his life to the love of Pokémon, and battling.

Red Waterflower of Cerulean City, who is about to start out with his very own Pokémon, working side by side, catching Pokémon and perfecting the art of the battle! Traveling with good friends and training with boundless energy! For every Pokémon our hero meets, a new adventure waits around the corner!

And right now, somewhere in this world, a new friend is waiting – poised to soon make themselves known to our hero, heralding the start of a new friendship, and a fantastic adventure…


	2. The Legendary!

Pokémon: Ultimatum

Chapter Two: The Legendary

In a beautiful field in Kanto, just off of Pallet Town, a Celebi slept inside of a tree, dismissing the loud noise made by the nearby Mankey and Primeape, and ignoring the calls of the Spearow and the Pidgey.

Before too long, the Celebi finally awakened and sat up, looking around and checking its surroundings before floating up into the air and dashing around its tree. A "Bi!" erupted from its throat happily.

The Celebi glanced around, eyeing its subordinates with a smile on its face before it floated up to the top of the tree, picking a berry off one of the branches and munching on it happily.

Yes, this Celebi sure was cheerful. Nothing could bring down its spirit at all! The Celebi was so happy right now that it danced for a bit in the air after eating its berry and then checking around the field once more, counting every single Pokémon before it finally smiled.

"Bi!" it chimed, and then it soared up even higher, checking out the region of Kanto with a grin.

In almost an instant, at the exact same time that a Shaymin somewhere else had changed into Sky Forme, this Celebi decided that it was going to soar above the nearby town with a smile.

_Arceus has plans, _it thought to itself. _I'm not sure what for, but it makes me excited just thinking about it! I wonder what role I might play?_

Flying off into the distance, the Celebi looked around Pallet Town with a smile, before disappearing from sight.

The Celebi didn't even notice that it had been seen by a young, ten year old boy, who happened to enter the town with his mother at just the precise moment. The boy wondered over what he had just seen, thinking to himself this:

_Is this a sign? Am I meant to go on this adventure?_


	3. Meet Red and Charmander!

Pokémon: Ultimatum

Chapter Three: Meet Red and Charmander!

He wasn't sure that this was a good idea. For one thing, yes, he was aware that when both his parents had turned ten years old, they had started their own Pokémon journey. But he was different than them. He wasn't sure if it was the right choice on his mother's part.

His black hair was tucked underneath his Pokémon League hat, the one that was the last gift he had ever gotten from his father before he had suddenly decided to leave. His brown eyes surveyed the Route 1 before him, as he anxiously approached what was going to be the most thrilling moment of his life. Wearing his usual red jacket over his black shirt and his blue jeans, he seemed pretty typical for a Pokémon trainer with his backpack well stocked with the essentials.

His stepfather was leading the way. Gary Oak knew the world around Pallet Town like he knew the Pokédex coding, or the way that he knew the statistics of fighting, or the types of Pokémon that could breed with another type. His mother, Misty Waterflower, stepped in line next to him.

And here he was – Red Waterflower. He was walking with a slight slouch because he really wasn't looking forward to this. Yes, he had dreamed of being a trainer all of his life, practically; ever since his stepfather had brought up that he had started his career as a trainer.

But then that guy happened. That Ash Ketchum guy. His mother had seen him on television winning the Unova League and becoming the new Champion of Unova about eight years ago. She instantly told him when he was seven that her dream was her son becoming the new Kanto Champion.

He didn't want to be Champion. He wanted to be like his stepdad. He wanted to study Pokémon, learn what made them tick. Learn what made them… them. Learn where they came from and how they adapted to trainers.

"Here we are, Red," announced Gary.

Red had been so lost in his thoughts he had completely forgot what was going on. He looked up to see the drab that was Pallet Town. He knew that his stepfather was born and raised here, but he liked to compare it to Cerulean City; it was a bit of a letdown for being the place that Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum came from.

The beating sun poured down on him, and he found himself looking up at the sky, to see a green Pokémon whiz by quickly. His eyes widened as he processed what he had just seen.

Was that a Celebi? Was this a sign? Is this adventure meant to happen?

"Yo, Red!"

Red looked down to see his stepbrother waving to him from the Pokémon lab. His stepbrother, Aspen, looked a lot like his father, Gary. The father and son practically seemed like clones, except Aspen's eyes were green. Everyone found it a bit odd, but soon everyone remembered that no one actually knew who Aspen's mother was except for Gary himself.

The two stepbrothers smirked at each other, both anticipating the moment before them. Since they were both now ten now, Misty and Gary had decided to send them off at the same time. Red was looking forward to a bit of friendly rivalry between them. Gary had once said that Ash Ketchum had been his rival, and he had always been one step ahead of the Unova Champion… until his loss.

Red was hoping he would be one step ahead of Aspen, and that, when the time came, he would win against him.

They all stepped into the lab, where Professor Oak's former assistant, Tracey Sketchit, was waiting for them. Since Oak's retirement, Gary had taken control of the lab, with Tracey as his assistant in caring for all of the Pokémon. No one knew where Oak had gone off to in order to enjoy his retirement, but he frequently sent in cards and gifts for special occasions.

Tracey looked away from the three Kanto starters sitting on a cart, smiling upon recognizing Misty and Gary.

"Misty, it's great to see you," he greeted, coming up to her and the two sharing a handshake. "Your son, Red, has certainly grown!"

Red smiled out of embarrassment. "Thanks for the compliment, Uncle Tracey."

Tracey smiled in response before leading Red to the cart, where Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle sat smiling at him. They were small, with the Squirtle being the smallest and Charmander being the tallest.

"You can select one Pokémon from any three of these," Red's stepfather explained, walking up to stand beside him. "Once you select your starter, I will give you your Pokédex and you will start on your way."

"Sounds good," Red replied, getting a good look at the three Pokémon, his eyes eventually falling on to Charmander, who brightly smiled back. Red couldn't help but smile in return, turning to his stepfather. "Gary, I choose Charmander!"

Gary smirked, a "tsk" escaping him as he closed his eyes and looked down for a moment. It seemed he was reminiscing, before he looked back up and his smirk turned into a smile. "I thought you would," was all he said.

In moments, Charmander was returned to his Pokéball and the device was given to Red, a Pokédex following soon after. Red stepped away from the cart in order to allow his stepbrother to decide what he wanted.

It didn't take long for Aspen to exclaim, "I'm taking Squirtle!"

"Big surprise…" Misty muttered to herself. Tracey chuckled at her words.

**~Who's that Pokémon?~**

**~It's Piplup!~**

Red's journey took him through Route 1, and it take him long to pass by a campsite. A tent was set up, with a nice cozy campfire with smoke instead of an actual flame. It seemed that whoever was the owner of the camp had left for a moment or two.

He didn't have anyone to trade a confused look with, so instead he just raised an eyebrow.

Red had probably stood there for about a minute and a half when a girl stepped out followed by her Piplup. He recognized the Pokémon and the girl right away – she was Pearl, the daughter of Dawn Berlitz, the top Coordinator of Sinnoh and friend to his Aunt May.

Pearl Berlitz looked quite a bit like her mother, but she had clearly gotten her eye colour from her father, Paul. She wore a pink jacket over her outfit, effectively blocking it out from everyone's view. Pearl seemed quiet for a moment before she approached Red, her Piplup following close after.

"I didn't expect to see you here," was what she said.

The two shared a look before both broke into smirks and shook hands.

"Good to see you again," Red told her with his smirk turning into a smile. "It's been awhile, Pearl."

"Too long," Pearl agreed. The two let go of their hands, and Pearl's smile softened. "I see you've started your journey, too. I just started mine as well, but I wanted to start in Kanto."

"Any particular reason why?" Red asked, intrigued.

Pearl gave a shrug in response before she sighed. "I guess it's just because I've seen Sinnoh before… I wanted to start somewhere that I had never seen before, and Mom suggested Kanto. She said some of her closest friends are from here… even the Champion of Unova."

"Yeah, Kanto's got some good Trainers," Red agreed almost instantly, thinking of the two Professor Oaks and his mother. "I suppose I can see where you're getting at…"

Pearl sat down on the ground and gestured to Red to join her, to which he instantly sat down next to her. Pearl began to pet her Piplup's head with a soft smile as she turned to the Kanto trainer.

Red suddenly had a crazy idea spark in his head. He recalled the words of his mother before they had started out to Pallet, gaining a bit of smile as they came to his mind. _It is always more fun to travel with friends than it is to travel alone_. He hadn't been sure at the time if she was talking about Pokémon or actual friends, but now he figured that he had finally understood what she was talking about.

She meant friends of all kinds. Human friends and Pokémon alike was she had meant. He looked up to face Pearl with a smile, holding out a hand toward her and startling her somewhat.

"Hey, Pearl. You want to travel together through Kanto with me? You are at a bit of a disadvantage here, after all, not being from here and all," he told her.

Pearl looked at him with a weird look for a moment before she finally smiled and took his hand, giving a nod. "Yeah, I agree. Being in a new region is slightly scary…"

And so the two began to travel together, from that moment.

***Scene Change* **

The two hadn't stayed at Pearl's camp for two long. After they stayed there for a quick lunch, they packed up and started on their way to Viridian City. Pearl kept her Piplup out of its Pokéball, making Red smile at her as he watched the Pokémon stay on her head.

"So, Pearl, why do you keep him out of his Pokéball?" he asked her curiously to break the silence.

"She," Pearl corrected with a smile. "She's a she, not a he."

"My mistake," Red offered with a shrug. He held out a Pokéball with a smile. "My Charmander is a 'he'. I guess I just figured that yours was, too. I know your Mom's is…"

"Yeah, and he's annoying, too," Pearl smirked. "He likes to wake me up in the early morning… _every day_, even when I have nothing planned."

Red winced somewhat, being able to relate. His mother's Azurill, which had been an Azurill since she had been _eleven_, loved to bounce on his head when his door had been opened. It had gotten to the point that they had started locking the Azurill in the laundry room just so that he could actually sleep in. Aspen loved to tease him about it, too…

"Red?"

He looked up when he had been addressed. He hadn't realized that he had drifted off into another world when he had been thinking, causing him to actually stop walking to some extent. Pearl was looking at him with what seemed to be a worried look, too.

"Is something wrong?" she questioned him with a slightly cold look. "You stopped walking all of a sudden. That's slightly creepy."

"No, no, I'm alright," Red assured, as he started walking again. "I was just thinking about home… Makes me wonder how everyone's going to handle me and Aspen no longer being there…"

"Our parents can live with that fact," Pearl assured him as she joined him by his side. "After all, their parents also dealt with it."

Red considered her words. There was truth inside them, after all. He figured that, also, seeing as it was tradition…

"You're doing it again," Pearl suddenly spoke, causing him to snap out of his slight daydream. "You're stopping again."

He began walking once more, intending to keep up with Pearl.

"Do you do this often?" she asked him.

"Yeah… I like to think. I guess I just never realized that I stopped walking whenever I did," he observed, reminding himself to keep stepping forward."

"Everyone has a quirk," Pearl assured him with a small, slightly teasing smirk. "Why, even I have a quirk."

"You're little Miss Perfect," Red told her with a hint of disdain. "You've always been that way."

"Yes, but it's that stubbornness and being used to getting my way that gives me problems," Pearl told him with a smile. "However, I guess since I'm able to see that, it's not that much of an issue."

Red shrugged, looking away for a moment. "Well, you've also been told that by Aspen, so…"

Pearl shrugged as well, just as the two stopped before a bridge. "I suppose so…"

They stared at the road that crossed the bridge and kept going. In the distance, they could see the roofline of Viridian City. They both turned to each other with smiles and were about to start their way across the bridge when something rather unexpected occurred.

Out of nowhere, a Banette appeared.

This rather random event caused Pearl to frown in confusion. "Banette are not native to Kanto. What is this about?"

"It must be owned by someone," Red observed with a slight frown of his own.

"That assumption, Mr Red Waterflower, is quite correct," came a voice from nowhere, causing the two to look around for the source.

When they didn't find anything that could speak English, the two shared confused looks before suddenly, a young man appeared behind them. He was dressed in black, with a mask over his eyes and a hat blocking his hair from the outside world. The clothing appeared thick and warm, and in the current season, most undesirable. Pearl eyed the man with a wary eye. Red deemed the idea that she instantly didn't like him.

"Who are you?" Red asked the man in what he hoped was a demanding tone of voice.

The man stayed quiet for a moment before he spoke. He spoke in a quiet, whispery kind of voice with an obvious strain in his tone. It was almost as if he wasn't used to speaking.

He said, "I am here to set things right."

"What do you mean by that?" Red demanded once more, hoping he sounded intimidating. He had to admit, this young man scared him.

The man stayed silent for a moment before he turned away, his Banette following him. "I cannot say. Please follow me." Before he could walk away, he was stopped by Red grabbing his arm.

"Listen, buddy, I want to know who you are and what you want."

The man was once again silent for a moment. It was starting to irritate Red. Not too long after, he broke his silence by saying, "My name is unimportant. I want to help."

As he walked away, clearly expecting Pearl and Red to follow him, Red shared a confused look with his friend.

"Well, he's certainly not suspicious," Pearl muttered in a sarcastic tone.

The two warily followed him, not sure if they should be. The man led the two deeper down Route 1, down a path that Red wasn't even aware had existed. The area that was revealed at the end appeared to be a small little garden and playground, with a white wooden swing hanging of a branch of a tree with white rope.

White was certainly the theme of this playground.

"What's this?" Red asked the man in curiousity. "My stepdad is from Pallet, and has been down Route 1 as a result, and he has never seen this place…"

"This place is hidden to all but the chosen," the man… didn't explain. "I have brought you here so you can see that which you can trust."

A cry of a Pokémon erupted from above, causing Red and Pearl to look up in surprise. A Charizard flew above them, spraying a Flamethrower in what appeared to be anger…? Triumph…? Whatever it was that the Charizard was feeling… he was feeling a lot.

Red was tempted to scan the Charizard, just to learn more about it. But he felt something for the Charizard – he felt that he could trust it, regardless. He felt he didn't have to know more about it because he knew it… somehow.

"Does that Charizard… just scream 'nostalgia' to you?" he found himself asking Pearl.

"Not really…" Pearl replied with honesty, hugging her Piplup close to her. "It just screams 'fear' to me."

"Ah, my fair maiden, you are not the chosen, but you are the chosen's friend," the man said, in a rather creepy tone. "The Charizard will not harm you."

Pearl resisted the urge to choke him. "Right…"

The Charizard raged further in the sky. The man turned to the two, and for a moment, Red swore he saw sweat coming down the man's forehead. So, the outfit was a bit too warm for this weather.

"That Charizard once belonged to the Champion of Unova," explained the man, his voice seeming somewhat strained. "He let it stay in a valley with its mate when he was a younger. You might have heard – he is now missing."

Red could admit. He had actually _not _heard about that. He must have been wearing a matching expression to his surprise, as the man simply continued with a slight chuckle.

"It's true. Seven years ago, the Champion simply vanished. He left behind a daughter your age, in the care of two of his friends."

**~Scene Change~**

And finally, the two made it to Viridian City. After the trek that they had gone through, both were rather exhausted and couldn't wait for a break. They stopped by the Pokémon centre and gave the Nurse Joy their Pokémon before they headed to the restaurant area.

The two were quiet for a moment as they ate their food, keeping generally to themselves. Pearl would often look up to eye Red, and each time she did, he noted it. The two hadn't really seen each other over the years, only really whenever his Aunt May had visited, and she happened to bring Dawn and her daughter. Those kind of events had rarely even happened, though.

Red could only mention to himself that Pearl had certainly inherited her mother's good looks. Her black hair evenly framed her face, and made her cuter…

… But he couldn't think like that. He shook his head softly, dismissing the thoughts out of his mind. He had his Pokémon to train, and he had to guide Pearl throughout all of Kanto. He shouldn't focus on thoughts like that.

"Red? Is everything okay?" came a voice.

Red looked up, snapping out of his thoughts, seeing Pearl holding her cup and eyeing him with a confused look.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Red tried to assure her, but the look she gave him instantly dismissed the idea. He stayed quiet and instead decided to look out the window. It had started to rain and people were rushing through the streets with umbrellas.

Looks like they were staying the night, then.

"I've always liked the rain," mentioned Pearl, smiling at Red. "It always meant that my mom wouldn't head off to Sandgem."

"Why would she do that?" Red asked curiously.

"Well, Sandgem was where her studio was. Twinleaf was too small, so she couldn't buy a place there, so she went to the next town. On top of being a Coordinator, my mom started teaching would-be Coordinators all kinds of skills and moves they could use," Pearl explained with a bit of a dreamy, far-off look. She looked down toward her hands on the table before she continued. "I could never go, because… well, actually I don't know why I wasn't allowed to go… but it always meant days with Grandma or with my boring Dad instead of days with my awesome mom… she would always tell me stories of when she traveled with the Champion of Unova…"

Red frowned at the mention of the Champion. "What's so special about that guy, anyway? Everyone seems to know him, but no one seems to know that he's been gone for seven years…"

Pearl gave a shrug. "When Mom told me stories, it didn't even seem like she was aware he was in Unova. She always figured he was still somewhere out there… doing his own thing…"

"I wonder what he was like," Red wondered aloud.

"Mom liked him. That's all I need."

Red considered her words before he decided he'd have to think about it. The Champion of Unova, who his mother seemed to be obsessed with, practically left a path that his mother expected him to trace. He didn't want to be the Champion of Kanto…

… but he wasn't sure what he wanted to be, either.

**~Scene Change~**

After the rain had stopped, and the next day had arisen, Red and Pearl prepared for the walk ahead of them. They stepped out of the Viridian City grounds, and before them stood the grand Viridian Forest.

"I've never been in here before," Pearl pointed out with a smile. "I wonder if it's going to be as wonderful as I've heard."

"Viridian Forest is full of many things," Red said with a smirk. "Especially bug types."

Pearl smiled at Red, a smile that caused Red to lose his smirk and smile back. "I like bug types."

"Then, let's go!" Red cheered, and the two started on their way.

**Narrator: With a friend and a new travel companion in Pearl by his side, it looks like Red's journey through Kanto has certainly gained some adventure. What awaits our new heroes in the world of Pokémon? Perhaps we'll see next time… on Pokémon: Ultimatum!**

**-Next time—**

**Red: The next adventure… is this! What's this? Is that a Caterpie? And it looks like it wants something from us… But I know we don't have anything worth a Caterpie taking? Hey, give me back my hat! Looks like we're going to have to battle it out… Next time: The First Day!**

**Charmander: Charmander, char!**

**-Message from the author-**

Greetings everyone. Just wanted to let you know a few things. 1) Welcome to the adventure of Ultimatum! 2) We have a wiki to inform everyone on things that they might have missed. 3) That wiki needs supporters. 4) Thank you for choosing Ultimatum. To be honest, Pearl makes Ultimatum for me. She seems so cold at first, but she actually does have a heart. As I can't be bias toward Red and Leaf, I decided to like Pearl instead of Red.


	4. The First Day!

Pokémon: Ultimatum

Chapter Four: The First Day!

Red and Pearl walked through the path in Viridian Forest, seeming at peace as they just enjoyed the day. They had no idea that in another region, someone else was starting their first step as a trainer as well.

The walk was pretty quiet, but truthfully, Red was finding it somewhat awkward. All along the walk that he had taken with his parents when they had started to Pallet to get his Charmander, they had talked the whole time to bypass time. They mentioned everything from Aunt May all the way to two people that his father had known but his mother had never met, and the conversation had gotten sort of weird from there…

"Red. You're doing that creepy no-walking thing again."

Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw Pearl turned to him with a concerned expression.

"You have really got to stop doing that," she mentioned. She smiled at him warmly, instantly earning her a smile in response.

"You know, Pearl, I think travelling with you won't be so bad…" Red found himself saying. "You always seem to know when I'm zoning out and you can snap me out of it…"

Pearl laughed in response, her Piplup holding tight onto her head in fear of falling off. While her mirth lasted for only a few moments, to Red it seemed to last awhile. He had to admit, Pearl had a nice laugh. Once she had stopped laughing, Pearl paused in her steps and lost her smile, turning to Red with a somewhat worried look on her face.

"Who do you suppose that guy was from earlier?" she asked him in a concerned tone. "He certainly was strange, wasn't he?"

Red paused, stopping in his tracks as well. "I…" He found himself speechless, and unsure of what to say to her in order to stop her from worrying. "I guess we'll be finding out at some point…"

Pearl seemed ashamed of herself as she said her response. "I… I'm a little worried about him…"

"Why?" Red asked, curious. It was not something that he had expected of her.

"I mean… he may be suspicious and his intentions unclear, but he was warm clothing and it's been hot lately… he could get sick," Pearl explained herself, looking somewhat upset. "I'm just the type to worry about things like that, I guess…"

The two stopped for a moment before deciding to take a break. They sat in a clearing while Pearl prepared a fruit salad for some lunch, her Piplup helping. Red stayed off to the side, enjoying the scenery of Viridian Forest. He turned to watch her for a moment before he decided to help out.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked her curiously, watching as she sliced some fruit.

"I suppose you can set up an area for us to eat?" she offered, not looking up from her job.

Red nodded and began to look around the clearing that they were currently sitting in. He decided on a spot free of the flowers and took a blanket out of his bag, the one that his stepfather had put in for him. He then placed it out on the ground and spread it out, turning it into a makeshift picnic blanket.

Once he was satisfied with the way that he had laid everything out, he turned to Pearl with a smile on his face. "Hey, Pearl, everything's set up!"

"Sweet, thank you!" Pearl chimed, as she stood up from cutting the fruit and walking over to where Red was. Her Piplup practically skipped over to the blanket and the three of them sat on it with smiles.

The three of them sat on the blanket and ate their fruit salad, with Piplup chewing on some Pokémon food that Pearl had brought with her. As they ate, Pearl and Red chatted about what they were going to do when they reached Pewter City. Pearl wanted to check out the museum that reportedly had all kinds of different meteorites and fossils. Red was more interested in battling the gym leader, Forrest.

"Is that your goal, Red? To gain all the badges in Kanto?" asked Pearl as they finished up their meal and began to pack up.

"Yeah," Red replied with a smile. "Mom said my dad did that, and that's how they met… she said he traveled through the five regions, gaining every badge…"

"That's a good goal!" chimed Pearl. "After all, isn't strength measured by not only the amount of badges that you have, but by your friendship with your Pokémon? My dad, who used to measure strength only in the amount of badges and the battles that you won, once told me and my brother that it's also in your friendship… which can grow through battles."

"That's so cool! My mom and stepdad said something similar…"

"Piplup, Piplup! Pip!" exclaimed Pearl's Piplup, as she angrily gestured to something that the other two didn't see right away.

When Red and Pearl turned in the direction that the penguin was pointing at, they were greeted with the sight of an angry Caterpie that seemed to really have it in for them. The Caterpie angrily used String Shot against Piplup who was instantly covered in the thick substance.

Satisfied with the results of the attack, the Caterpie then approached the group and headed for the backpacks placed off to the side and began to dig through the pink one – Pearl's backpack.

"Hey, wait a second!" called out Red in panic.

Pearl cried out at the scene before she took out a Pokéball from the pocket of her jacket, surprising Red.

"You have another Pokémon?"

**~Who's That Pokémon?~**

**~It's Caterpie!~**

Elsewhere, the young man that Red and Pearl had met earlier in their adventure stepped through the forest, looking around silently as his Banette followed loyally. It seemed almost as if they had some sort of unknown secret mission and were trying to continue on with it without looking suspicious.

Yeah. Because a young man dressed in all black with a Banette was not something to be worried about at all. Note the sarcasm.

"Somewhere… that Pokémon is somewhere near here…" the young man muttered to himself, before wiping some sweat off his brow and turning to his Banette.

His Banette appeared to have a worried expression, but said nothing.

"Shall we continue our search? Perhaps the Pokémon has since moved back to Johto?" he figured, but his only response from his Banette was a slight smile. "That would certainly be troublesome…"

He received a slight acknowledgement in reply.

"Shall we hunt down the Celebi, then, Banette?"

Banette replied verbally, excitedly. The man chuckled at his Pokémon's response and the two began their hunt for Celebi.

For now, their trek was rather boring and uneventful, before they stopped in the shade of a rather large tree with a red ball placed under it. The young man wondered over this for a moment, not quite understanding its purpose, before he decided to leave it alone. His Banette seemed fascinated with the object as well, but also decided to just leave it where it was, imitating his trainer.

Before the young man could move on any further, he was stopped by a little girl dressed in a pink dress with purple pockets. Her brown hair was short and not evenly cut, suspiciously much like someone else who was currently traveling through Unova. Now, normally, seeing a little girl like this would not be something to be worried about, but this _was _Viridian Forest, and it was known to have Weedle. Weedle were poisonous. Little children such as this girl were very sensitive to such things. However, the young man's plans to take the girl back to her parents were foiled when she looked up to eye him directly in the eyes, rather eerily. He gasped upon seeing the bizarre shade of pink that they were.

"This girl, Banette…" started the young man, softly. "She… she has been possessed by one of the Legendary Pokémon!"

"**Quite correct, dear Katsuya,**" stated the little girl, startling the young man at the fact that she even _knew his name_. "**I am here to follow through with a prophecy made… Arceus has sent me on a mission.**"

"And why possess the girl?" questioned Katsuya in his scratchy voice. "She has a life, a path that she must follow."

"**Unfortunately for young Eri here, her path has led her to this moment in life,**" explained the Legendary Pokémon. "**If you have not yet figured it out for yourself, I am Mew, the Legendary Pokémon of Kanto. If you require further proof, DNA that was taken from me resulted in the birth of Mewtwo.**"

"Yes… only a few number of people actually know that…" realized Katsuya, though how he knew this information, Mew would never understand. "But why this girl… Eri, was it? … Why her?"

"**She found her way to me when her ball strayed too far from her Eevee.**"

… That gave Katsuya nothing to work on, except that now he knew the owner of the red ball. He frowned slightly at the little girl and tried his best to come up with a way to free her. Legendary Pokémon – ones that could not speak the human language or communicate through telepathic means, were now know to possess people who either reminded them of themselves or happened to stray toward them at the moment that they were searching for the host. The last known possession that he was aware of had been a Darkrai… and the police were _still _searching for him. This little girl was surely being missed by her parents, too, and if the polices' failure of locating a full-grown man from Kanto was any indication then he was quite lucky to have found Mew and Eri.

"**Now… if you will allow me… I must find the boy that Arceus has chosen…**" Mew said, before it turned away from Katsuya and started to walk down the path.

Turning to his Banette, Katsuya saw the rather upset look in its eyes as it blinked back at him. That was when he came to a decision.

"Hold on, Mew, please, and allow me to find the boy for you…" Katsuya faltered on his words a little bit, his voice still somewhat scratchy. "The boy is the least of your worries… As far as I am aware, Darkrai may try something…"

"**Arceus and I are well aware that Darkrai is on the move…**" Mew stated in response, the little face of Eri turning to stare at Katsuya with an eerie, blank stare. "**I have been selected out of the other Legendary Pokémon to follow him and stop him in his tracks. What he has done to the Chosen One has been unforgivable, and Arceus and the others may never allow Darkrai to be forgiven.**"

"The Chosen One?"

Mew gave no reply, and instead continued its search for "the boy"… though if Katsuya's thoughts were correct, it was looking for that child that he had shown the Charizard too earlier.

It was looking for Red Waterflower. Katsuya panicked, and turned back the way that he had come, his Banette following him loyally as he raced down the path.

**~Scene Change~**

Pearl seemed slightly worried at what her actions might cause, but she still held tight to her second Pokémon's Pokéball, ready to retaliate at a moment's notice to free her Piplup from the Caterpie.

"Of course I have a second Pokémon, Red – this one here was a present from my brother! He's got his sister!" Pearl explained quickly, before releasing her Pokémon from its Pokéball.

Out popped a male Buizel, with a slightly mad expression on his face as he prepared himself for the battle at hand. Pearl stood bravely behind him, with a determined look on her face.

Red took out his Charmander's Pokéball as well, not wanting to be left out. "I'll help, too! Go, Charmander!"

Charmander came out immediately, a smile on his face as he looked at the Caterpie. The Caterpie made a few noises before it turned to look behind it, multiple Caterpie coming out from the trees.

The two trainers, needless to say, were surprised at the sudden development.

"What? Are we seriously getting ganged up against by _Caterpie?_" questioned Pearl with a disbelieving tone.

"I've heard of stranger stories…" admitted Red as he backed up a little in response to the approaching caterpillar Pokémon.

The two stood bravely before the army of Caterpie… and about five or so Weedle. Buizel and Charmander faced the army with equally brave expressions, awaiting their trainers' orders.

"Buizel," started Pearl, thinking for a moment. Her Buizel turned his head to look at her expectantly. "How about we start the attack with a well-aimed Water Gun?"

"Bui, bui!" exclaimed the Buizel excitedly, before he launched a Water Gun a large concentration of Caterpie.

The Caterpie that were hit were flown back a few paces and some even banged into trees, closing their eyes from sudden pain and falling to the ground in crumbling heaps. Some Caterpie that were able to dodge continued to approach with menacing looks and glares.

"Charmander, Scratch!" commanded Red, before his Charmander launched himself into a Caterpie, scratching as he did so.

The Caterpie that was hit by Scratch didn't faint right away, and instead launched a String Shot at Charmander, wrapping the small lizard Pokémon completely. He struggled for a moment needlessly, before falling over and being unable to get back up. This left Buizel all alone against the hordes of Caterpie, but in all honesty, the Pokémon didn't seem to mind. He kept a smirk on his face as he awaited his next command.

"Buizel, how about we try Swift?" asked Pearl, resulting in her Buizel to launch golden stars at the group of Caterpie instantly.

Some Caterpie were launched back while others were able to hold their ground against the attack. The two trainers were starting to get slightly agitated by the recent events. How could they be losing to mere Caterpie? Red rushed over to his Charmander and began to tear away at the String Shot that covered him, as Pearl's Piplup also freed itself with the help of a nearby branch.

Buizel, meanwhile, was having a blast as Caterpie launched themselves at him and he dodged effortlessly.

"Good job, Buizel! How about we try Quick Attack next?" Pearl offered, as her Buizel quickly complied with her 'orders' (if they could even be called that) and raced across the ground at a large concentration of Caterpie and rammed right into them.

"Charmander! Let's use Scratch! Pick any of the Caterpie to use it on!" Red ordered.

Charmander decided to hit the one that he had hit before, knocking out that particular Caterpie as Pearl asked her Piplup to use Pound on another Caterpie. Buizel was then ordered to use Water Gun again as Charmander scratched another Caterpie.

The order followed through again as they knocked out Caterpie after Caterpie, not spotting another Caterpie that was inching its way toward Pearl's bags once more. It began to dig through just as her Buizel had noticed it.

"Bui, bui!" explained the Buizel, pointing at it and trying to get Pearl and Red's attention.

"Hey, that's my stuff!" Pearl demanded, before turning to her Piplup. "Piplup, please use Bubblebeam on that Caterpie!"

Red and Charmander shared a look of curiousity before they watched Piplup use Bubblebeam on the Caterpie.

The Caterpie immediately straightened and got back onto its feet, facing the two with a look that could only be described as a glare that was attempting to be epic and intimidating… and was not. Pearl's Buizel even widened his eyes at the rather pathetic attempt.

However, the other Caterpie and the odd Weedle disagreed and ran off instantly, leaving the group facing the one by Pearl's bags.

Piplup and Caterpie had an rather not-so-epic stare-down, one that was causing Buizel and Charmander to share rather nonchalant shrugs and awkward smiles. Red watched with interest as he tried to figure out what Pearl would do.

In all honesty, no one expected the Caterpie to make the first move. It launched itself at Piplup in a Tackle. Piplup took the hit, and then was asked to launch a Pound attack, which she then did so in a hurry, hitting Caterpie. After another Tackle and a Bubblebeam, the battle began to get rather repetitive.

"What's in your bag exactly that the Caterpie want so badly?" Red decided to ask as Caterpie attempted to Tackle Piplup again.

"Probably my Poffins," Pearl figured, before she asked her Piplup to Pound the Caterpie. "But I like this Caterpie…"

"So what are you going to do?" Red asked, before he realized what a dumb question it really was.

"Show you how to be a real Pokémon trainer," Pearl replied with a rather teasing tone in her voice. Red rather admired it; it certainly how her mother's feel to it.

The battle between the Piplup and the Caterpie commenced, before the Caterpie finally collapsed after a well-played Bubblebeam. Pearl then took out an empty Pokéball and tossed it at the Caterpie, a red beam of light taking in the caterpillar Pokémon and sucking it in.

The ball began to shake, causing Red and Pearl to watch in anxiety.

One…

Two…

Three…

… … … Ding!

"I… I caught it!" Pearl exclaimed excitedly. She rushed over to her Pokéball and held it up for Red to see, as if he didn't already. "I caught Caterpie!"

"Bui, bui!" Buizel excitedly said, followed by Piplup's, "Pip, Piplup!"

"Charmander!" chimed in Charmander.

Red laughed rather embarrassingly. "I guess you did… Wish I got one."

"There's plenty more here, clearly. Maybe we'll run into another," Pearl said with a soft smile, as she pocketed her Pokéball.

After recalling Buizel and Charmander, the two packed up and began to get ready to leave, when the young man from before (who we now know as Katsuya) arrived once more, startling the two.

"Hey, it's you!" Pearl stated the obvious.

"Yes, it is I…" Katsuya greeted, bowing somewhat, his Banette imitating his movements. "I have learned some rather disturbing news and I wanted to alert you… Beware a young girl with pink eyes. She seeks only trouble…"

"A young girl with pink eyes?" Red asked, disbelieving. "Who… what sort of girl would have eyes like that?"

"I cannot tell you why as it is forbidden to," Katsuya decided upon telling the two, his voice still somewhat scratchy from misuse. "Please, if you see a girl with such eyes, avoid her at all costs."

Red thought about what the man was telling him. This girl, if what the man said was true, was trouble and probably even dangerous. And, being a new trainer, he would be completely useless against whatever forces she might control. Pearl, out of the two of them, had the strongest Pokémon in Buizel, who, as he understood it, was a gift from her brother. He looked up at the man and nodded in response before saying this:

"We will."

"Good boy," Katsuya said in a relieved tone. "You have no idea how much of the world's peace and order weighs on this…"

"Wait!" Pearl exclaimed, reaching out to the young man with a concerned look. "You didn't look well before… are you okay?"

"I will be fine," stated Katsuya with his slightly scratchy voice. "There is no need to worry about me…"

He then disappeared completely from sight, startling both new trainers.

"How… How did he do that?" Pearl asked.

"Is it possible for a Banette to learn Teleport?" Red wondered, trying to come up with a possible solution to what had just happened.

Pearl shook her head. "I don't know… But first, what do you suppose that was all about? I mean, a girl with pink eyes?"

"My mom's told me stories of all kinds of things that she's seen on her adventures with Ash… This is probably not the weirdest thing that's happened…" Red figured.

"Probably not… And what about him? I'm still worried about his health…"

"No need to worry!" Red chimed Pearl's mother's words very easily. "He said not to, right?"

"I… I suppose… How about we continue on our way to Pewter City?" Pearl offered, smiling at Red.

Red nodded as he replied with, "Yeah. Let's not dwell on it. I mean, let's definitely take his warning seriously and worry about him later, but for now… we're on an adventure aren't we?"

A smile from the trainer and her Piplup was his response as they continued on their way.

**~Scene Change~**

Katsuya and his Banette were watching over the forest in a rather epic manner. By epic, what is meant is that Katsuya was standing on a branch of a tree and staring out at the scenery before him.

What he had just learned… it was troubling. Legendary Pokémon rarely ever possessed humans in order to get their point across, and he worried about what Mew and Darkrai's true intentions really were. According to Mew, Darkrai was the one in the wrong, because the other Legendary Pokémon were apparently rather mad at him for _who_ he had possessed. This… this "Chosen One" that Mew had mentioned. However, Mew could also be in the wrong, as well, for possessing the little girl, Eri.

Who _was _Eri? Who was this "Chosen One"? What was going on?

Clearly there were things happening in the world that he was unaware of. He would have to travel deeper. Further into the world, there was a distant region that he had only heard of. It was a region that a friend of his was currently checking out with one of the Pokémon Professors, if he recalled correctly.

Unova. Perhaps he would find something there, and learn something from his friend.

His Banette turned to him, a worried expression on. Ah… sweat was coming down again…

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Katsuya turned to his Banette.

"Banette… I'm going to have to buy a planet ticket."

A look of confusion was on his Banette's face.

"You see, Banette… I have to track down a friend… I know he's in Unova, and he can truly help me with this," Katsuya explained. "He's well versed on the laws of the Pokémon. He will truly be able to make sense of all of this."

Katsuya knelt down on the branch and jumped down, landing on the ground with a light thud. His Banette floated down loyally to stop beside him, just as Katsuya took out a Pokéball.

"Let's do this," he stated in a tone that just screamed out determination. "Unova… we're coming."

**~Scene Change~**

Red and Pearl were continuing on their way through Viridian Forest, finally being able to calm down after having been attacked by thousands of Caterpie. The two shared a smile.

"So, Pearl, I never did say congratulations on capturing Caterpie… what are you going to do with it?" questioned Red.

"I suppose I'm going to raise it into a Butterfree…" figured Pearl as she thought about it, her Piplup on her head. "That is, if it wants to. Buizel wants to stay un-evolved and I don't know about Piplup…"

"Piplup, Piplup, Pip! Lup!" chimed Piplup… though whatever she had said at the moment went unknown to the two trainers. The two gave each other confused looks before laughing.

"Well, whatever you say, Piplup…" offered Pearl through laughs.

Red nodded in agreement.

"How about we continue on?" Pearl added. "We still have to get you a second Pokémon, and not too far from here is Pewter, where you're going to be facing against Forrest!"

Red nodded in determination. "A water type would really help me against that gym… I know the previous owner, Brock. He battled with Rock types!"

"Rock types? Ooh, that's so cool! Just like the first gym back home," realized Pearl with a smile. "My brother told me all about that…"

"Are you going to challenge Forrest, too, Pearl?"

"Maybe! I just might want to try it out! Pokémon battles, I mean… Contests may not be my thing… But I haven't really tried them out, either," Pearl replied with a smile.

Red gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "You sure have the looks for it…"

Pearl laughed at his words and waved them away. "Oh, stop… We both know that's not true… my mom's certainly prettier than me…"

"Well, if that's true than I certainly know where you got the genes from."

"Stop, Red, you're embarrassing me!"

Both laughed as they continued to walk through the forest… Neither realized that they were being followed by a shadow.

**Narrator: Uh oh, what's this? It seems that something is following our heroes! Being joined by a new Pokémon in Pearl's new Caterpie, will they be able to stop this upcoming force? But until then, it's on the Pewter City gym! What awaits our heroes next time, on Pokémon: Ultimatum?**

**-Next time—**

**Pearl: Everyone! It seems that we're targets for Pokémon these days… first the Caterpie, and now this Rattata steals Red's hat! Hey, you! Give that back! That was his father's! Next time: Attack of the Rattata!**

**Piplup: Piplup, Lup!**

**-A word from the author—**

I can tell you that this chapter is smaller than the Premium one. This is because nothing interesting happens to Red until he's almost at Pewter City… See, Leaf is more of the trouble-attracting kind, and that chapter also introduces Naminé, who's even _more _of the trouble-attracting kind of girl. Also, Rin was seeing new Pokémon left and right… Here, it's a bit different as both Red and Pearl have seen a Caterpie before. No idea why I decided Pearl would be the one to capture it… maybe because I already planned Red's Pokémon and then realized Caterpie was not one of them.

Also, man, Katsuya is clearly part of the Spotlight Stealing Squad...


End file.
